Consumer Brand Loyalty May Never Recover From The Recession

Consumer loyalty declined in the recession and may soon go the
way of the dodo, according to a new study by Catalina Marketing’s Pointer Media
Network.

An analysis of 32 million consumers in 2007 and 2008 across 685
leading brands revealed that 52% of “high-loyal consumers” --
those who bought 70% or more of goods from the same brand in a
year -- started buying more from a competitor the following year
or left the brand entirely. Nor were there new high-loyal
customers to replace the old ones.

The study cites one premium orange juice brand, whose 64.8% of
highly loyal consumers either switched or completely left the
brand the following year. That loss in loyal shoppers translated
to 34% fewer dollars spent on the brand in 2008, and a devasting
8% decline in potential overall revenue.

Among those products that fared the worst, All Purpose Cleaner
brands saw 62% of its customers stop being highly loyal between
2007 and 2008, and Canned Tomatoes and Cereal respectively
suffered a 65% shift within the same time.

Of course not every consumer tends to buy the same things over
and over, but the study did note that just 2.5% of regularly
shoppers comprise up to 80% of sales for some brands. That's a
big reason to pull out all stops for your base.